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#s2 being a tiny bit longer
occult-roommates · 10 months
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i've decided to set my queue to two posts instead of one so season 2 finale is tomorrow. like last time im gonna take a small story hiatus so i can plan my plot (i have my list of plot point i wanna hit, now time to arrange them in a coherent order and how it will lead to the climax/plot twist i've been planning since day 1) but, once again like last time, i'll also be posting some bonus stuff like a cas challenge and updated lookbook.
anyway, it's funny how much i had to force myself at some point to write and came close to abandon this blog and now im just so hyped i cant wait to start working on season 3, especially since i've been looking forward to this one since i began this blog back in november.
unrelated but tomorrow is the last day of my contract at the daycare, im renewing it for the fall but i'll be only part time again, also the place will be close for a month to give the employees some vacation. nothing to do with occult roommates, just wanted to say.
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kuiinncedes · 11 months
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jflfkgjd
#not ppl seeing the one (1) shot of isaac and another guy in the hs trailer and going omg isaac getting himself a boy ?!??!!?#ik not everyone has seen that alice has kind of talked about isaac being aroace i think ??#but it is a little annoying to see that just be the first reaction and assumption ig lmao#mostly bc i also saw one person's reaction going i thought isaac was giong to be aroace what is this shot#like saying he's actually getting a bf or sm like bro it was a shot of them looking at each other#and that just means they're gonna get together and alice saying isaac is aroace is no longer true and she was just lying ?????#like ig part of it is the fact that the entire trailer is ppl in relationships and ppl in love so#i don't completely blame them ig lmfao but like if you know alice said that#why does one shot of two boys looking at each other completely negate what they said#and but also it could absolutely be that they get together and isaac is figuring out his identity#idk lmao it's not a big deal . i think i'm realizing fr how much i'm looking forward to isaac as aroace representation lol#so seeing those things kinda annoyed me a tiny bit lol but is ok c:#the trailer was very cute also i laughed out loud acouple times lmfao#im interested by the kinda flip in tara and darcys storyline like the scene w tara and charlie talking and it's not rly#the same as in the comics idk it's interesting#it's def also interesting going into s1 i was going in completely blind and now going into s2 i'm like#going in knowing the comic super well and knowing that storyline so now i get that experience ig lol#anyway jfngdkgjskd#jeanne talks
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jaskierx · 7 months
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so there's been a lot of posting about things like ofmd not being a 'kind show' and no longer being 'the queer joy show' etc etc and. i just want to remind us of where everybody is in s1's finale vs s2's
let us begin
stede: stede ends s1 on a hopeful note (setting off to go get his man) but shortly prior to that he's kind of been through it (he nearly got executed and then two different people tried to murder him). stede ends s2 on an even more hopeful note, having got his man, ready to open an inn with him. verdict: slightly better off at the end of s2
ed: ed ends s1 in absolute despair. izzy has been a real dick to ed (depending on your interpretation, he's done something ranging from being a little tiny bit mean to ed to calling him a slur and threatening to kill him, but we're not having this discourse again) so now he's back in his blackbeard persona mere days after feeling some hope that he was finally free from piracy and ready to run away with someone who loves him for who he is. the last shot we see of s1 ed is him absolutely crying his eyes out in the bed nook. it inflicts d4 psychic damage on me whenever i look at it. anyway at the end of s2 he's been on an absolute journey, he's learned that he's loved, he's free from being blackbeard, he's stood beside the man that loves him and they're going to give everything a go. verdict: significantly better off at the end of s2
stede's crew: i mean. what is there to say. at the end of s1 they've just been marooned and social order on their little island is rapidly breaking down due to buttons and roach teaming up to try and eat the swede. at the end of s2 they're happily back at sea and the swede has spanish jackie to fight off anyone who would even consider having a nibble. verdict: significantly better off at the end of s2
honourable mention - buttons: ends s1 unsuccessfully trying to eat the swede. ends s2 having fulfilled his life's dream of becoming a bird. good job buttons. verdict: slightly better off at the end of s2
ed's crew: as above, the crew end s2 happily sailing away into the literal sunset. we finish s1 with jim presumably unconscious and izzy pointing a gun at frenchie. so not an ideal situation really. fang seems to be having a good time though and ivan gets killed off between seasons (rip king) so it averages out at a slightly better rather than a significantly better. verdict: slightly better off at the end of s2
honourable mention - frenchie: ends s1 hoisting his flag at gunpoint. ends s2 captaining the bloody ship. go frenchie. we love to see it. verdict: significantly better off at the end of s2
lucius: ends s1 soggy. ends s2 not only dry, but married. verdict: significantly better off at the end of s2
izzy: ah yes this old chestnut. so. two perspectives here. one is simply that he ends s1 alive and ends s2 dead. so. possible verdict: significantly worse off at the end of s2. alternatively, he ends s1 as his classic repressed self, smiling from ear to ear because ed cut his toe off and it sparked joy, disliked by the crew, resented by ed. he ends s2 having accepted himself and having experienced all the queer joy he would never have permitted himself in s1, having experienced more screentime and growth than any other secondary character in s2 (yes he's a secondary character no i won't argue with you about this), and dies exactly as he lived - being a pirate who can pull off a plan. he gets to have his deathbed deep and meaningful conversation with ed, which brings closure to them both. he gets buried beside ed and stede's new inn, on land where his grave will be tended, having been given a nice funeral by people who once despised him. so. possible verdict: slightly better off at the end of s2. he definitely seemed happier in s2, and died at peace rather than as a frothing little ball of anger, which is more than i could've foreseen in s1.
anyway. the eagle eyed mathematicians among you will notice that even if we take it as read that izzy is significantly worse off at the end of s2...
every single other character ends s2 in a better place than where they ended s1.
ofmd is a kind show that's full to the brim of queer joy. you guys are just sad that your fave died. and that's fine. the writers did a great job creating a story with characters that were so well written that people are genuinely grieving izzy's death.
but his death does not erase the inherent kindness and joy of the rest of the show.
anyway thanks for reading. i had fun playing with the tumblr post editor settings. by which i mean changing the text colour was unreasonably difficult and now i am stressed
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absent-o-minded · 3 months
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Tiny YR S3 Analysis
Just wanted to compare the parallels between these two hand holds in 3x05 and 3x06:
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(Please ignore the shitty screencaps, I tried my best)
In terms of composition, these shots are identical. A hand-hold centre to the frame, in a car with the camera placed in the middle. However, they're underpinned by different narrative contexts.
Here, the first shot from 3x05 is drenched in darkness. The actual lighting inside of the car is dim enough to obscure both of their suits, which almost blend them into the seats and so it becomes hard to distinguish between the two of them - The only focussed light is on their conjoined hands. Notably, the actual touch itself is tentative, almost like the bridging of an awkward divide on the way to the palace. Neither of them are sure what the touch actually means. Even their sleeves fall over their wrists and interfere with the actual act, so we only see the bottom half of their hands. Simon reaches out first and places his hand in the open sliver between the two seats before Wille accepts and laces their fingers together. It's an assured squeeze that reads as: "I'm not sure what will happen. I'm nervous." "I am too."
This scene has garnered a lot of analysis for its parallel to the Kristina x Wille car scene in S1 where people have commented on the reversal of blocking - Wille now assumes Kristina's position and Simon equally assumed Wille's. We now know that this arrives before the birthday explosion, and so it's also a touch that signifies confronting the inner workings of an oppressive environment (the palace). It's nerve-wracking and cautious and consolidating, but it's also doubtful. We, as spectators, pick up on visual and physical cues and so we begin to see the hand-hold as an visual indicator that the unity between the two characters is about to be disrupted.
~~~~~
However, the shot in 3x06 reads entirely differently. The first thing is that the shot is bathed in light. It's a bit like an embrace, contrasting the previous presentation of a cold backseat, Simon and Wille are literally basking in the sun. Most importantly, there is a light flashing on Wille as it seeps in from the windows, illuminating his spot as a person who is newly free. Simon sits to the left with the natural light (no abundance of light) because Simon has always strived to be free. He has never turned away from the light. As he said earlier in the episode: "I never gave up on us. I gave up on the royal court." For Simon, the issue was never the fear of being free, but the constraint of not being free. For Wille, fear hung over his shoulders just like a King's robe would. Being free was an aspiration, never a reality.
But that has all changed. The light is let in. It stands similar to a spot-light, where Wille finally lets the sun hit his body and not have it scorch him, but rather enlighten him.
The actual act of holding hands is no longer bridging an uncomfortable space; It's an assured togetherness. It is the two of them acknowledging everything that has happened and knowing that a future for the two of them is no longer a "possibility", but a truth. It's giddy and confident and safe.
It's also the final touch of the season, and so it had to speak louder than dialogue ever could - Which I think that it does. Throughout S1 and S2, we understood that physical touch was always done in private, or if not, it was done discreetly with the knowledge that it was fleeting. S3 saw the transition from private to public, but not without the fight to touch and not have it be seen as a revolution. To just let it be what it is. And THIS is what the show has been working towards for 3 years. It can all be summarised with this simple, final hand hold in a sunny car that's racing towards a future that finally, finally resembles their dreams. It's not overtly revolutionary, it's not a grand gesture; It's just theirs.
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OFMD S2 EP 4-5: Izzy Hands (from a S1 Izzy fan)
I'll admit. I teared up at the Izzy shit in ep 1-3. Not a full-blown cry. But close. I was stressed, and tired, and hurt more than anything. I only cried in my car driving home. It hit, but it was more prolonged.
Do you know what got me crying? Izzy opened that letter, revealing 'For The New Unicorn'. He looks up and smiles. I went from 0-100 dry eyes to crying in seconds. I had to rewatch it because HELL.
The entire episode, hell, debatably from (S1ep4) we see Izzy go through it. Socially isolated and losing his identity. Leading up to S2ep4. Drunk and sad and heartbroken. He tries his best to stay afloat without a lifejacket as his self crumbles around him. He doesn't care anymore. He thinks his life is over. He lashes out because there's no one there to help him.
BUT THEN THE LEG. He cried and I cried during both scenes.
BECAUSE HE IS CARED ABOUT AND HE CAN HEAL!
GOD, and the way that leads into EPISODE 5. Izzy slicked his hair back and regaining some of his own personal identity. Izzy genuinely bantering with Stede, and gently helping him to be a better Captain. The way he desperately asks Stede if Ed said anything else nice about him? Showing that. Yeah, he's not all the way there yet, but he's working on it. The training scene where Izzy just looks on in fascinated horror at Stede's skills? THE LITTE OKAY HANDSIGNAL AT THE END WHEN STEDE USED HIS GRUFF VOICE? He smiles, and jokes, and TRIES. Izzy is pissed, obviously, but he's getting there.
He is kind and caring, all WHILE STILL BEING A PRICK? Him being a total nerd during the curse monologue? Izzy mutters 'rude' and pointedly crosses his legs as Stede ruins the vibe. I laughed harder at Izzy sitting at that desk than I did at most of the jokes in the show. THAT'S MY FUCKING BASTARD!! I'm so happy I saw a character and have been rewarded by showing, yes. He is kind, and trying, but he needs to learn to let himself become new.
I fucking love him. I can tell from the teaser that Izzy is just going to grow closer with the crew (and with himself) and I can't wait. (Even if it means his imminent capture, whoops).
I do think they'll do something with Izzy/Lucius, at least a single happy (Izzy no longer holding himself back from wanting) consensual kiss or genuine discussion about life(post-wedding) to show their growth as characters because I had to pause with the cig and shark interaction. Jesus Christ. I didn't really ship it before, but they are so snarky and it's great.
I'm a bit sad as Izzy's current arc likely means he might not get the big 'fuck you' moment of anger to Ed that Lucius got. Mainly because Con would make me cry, but If Izzy is genuinely just shoving this shit down, ignoring the years that Ed ignored his existence, then...idk.
They purposefully gave Izzy and Ed no scenes and thank god we get a TINY break. Because Ed will try to patch things up, and I don't think it works like that with Izzy. He needs proof that Ed is trying. Add to that Ed ACTUALLY saying sorry to him, and not expecting Izzy to immediately accept it(my theory as to why Lucius pointed it out: Ed will ACTUALLY say sorry to Izzy and mean it. This will heal something for Izzy, and hell). I can't wait for Ed to come back and see him. See him for who he is, a silly prick who is loyal to a fault, who is loved.
This is likely the happiest two episodes we'll get, and fuck, I loved them both SO MUCH. After a rewatch I'll write about the crew. Ed/Stede is actually working for me as we watch them both learn, and Fuck, Lucius/Pete...my darlings.
NOW FOR THE TEASER:
THE IDEA OF SEEING CON IN DRAG AGAIN MAKES ME SO HAPPY! Especially what it means for Izzy. Izzy lets his hair down and has fun with Wee John as he explores what actually makes him happy. Hell, him opening up to being a bit of a masochist as a joke while tied up is...actually my favorite thing (while obvious, given his propensity to put Ed before him in all matters, Izzy casually mentioning 'I like to be roughed a bit up' in front of the crew is the type of openness about himself that I crave). Izzy "cocksuckers" Hands letting himself joke about SEX-GAY SEX(probably)- Kill me now.
(To clarify: I don't think he or Ed ever got off to the abuse, hell, we see Ed flinch away when Anne/Mary do it. That's not the face of someone who knows what that's like as the Sadist).
I just love the way Izzy has so obviously relaxed into a person that he'd never let exist. Hell. I hope Izzy gets to rub this happier version of himself RIGHT in Edward's sad face. I need a 'he was never like this with me' moment of Ed watching Izzy SMILE to parallel Izzy's jealousy in S1.
Con obviously loves this character, you can see it in the performance. He fills the role perfectly, from his ups to his downs. Con smiles and hell, that's not Con, that's Izzy fucking Hands. Striding along proudly pretending his world isn't changing, because it is, and he is healing and I LOVE IT.
I am so proud of our growing Izzy loving community. For some, we've been through a lot of shit. Probably in life, and hell, maybe even in this fandom. Even if you haven't been harassed, you loved Izzy, you saw yourself in him, and I hope you felt the show giving us a big fucking hug.
We grow, we recover, and hell. We get a happy fucking ending (with a few yet-to-be-seen bumps in the road).
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blocksruinedme · 11 months
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Extended flower husbands wip clip cause ao3's down
Final fic - Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
This is 2k and rated T, i think? It's the beginning of the fic, though i'm adding a cute bit about Jimmy's hair, so just know that he has a red streak in his hair he feels silly about. The fic will be rated E and something like 18k-20k long. It was going to be for the final round of Driving After Dark, the 18+ traffic life event, but it just kept getting longer. I won't quote the prompt here, but it's transmasc (but mostly labelless) jimmy at a rave full of LARPers. Here's a link to part of my author's note, explaining LARP and the concept of bleed (player/character emotions bleeding over). Credit to @toasted-cricket for describing outfits and a countertop. <3
(also, smallidarity (and bad boys) post-limited life wip on empires s2 and a silly smallidarity emp s2 one. and a modern SmallEtho fic that is "joel fretting cause he doesn't have a label for his relationship with Etho")
"Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by BlocksRuinedMe
Jimmy had complicated feelings about clubs, raves, anywhere with heavy drinking and strangers dancing or being boisterous. Jimmy loved to party, he wanted to party, and tonight, like every time, he told himself that this time he’d have a single drink and get out and have fun. He’d take up Joel or Grian or Lizzie or Martyn on their gentle but persistent offers to stay with him, to make sure everything was okay. Or maybe he’d work up the courage to go dance sober.
And as always, Jimmy had gotten to the party, looked at the length of the line at the bar, and sent his friends away to have fun. (Though he didn’t know where Grian was tonight - he’d promised to show up. Must be late again.) Years ago it had been harder to convince people to leave him alone at these kinds of parties, that he wouldn’t rather be dragged out onto the floor by a group, or be at home, alone, when everyone else was having fun. Sometimes he was in a mood to just chat with anyone who wasn’t too close to the busiest parts of the crowd - and sometimes he really did want to hang out on the edge of things, drinking soda and possibly bar snacks. He knew it didn't match his personality at other events, but giant parties were hard. 
Tonight he had a lot on his mind, and kept to himself. He was pleased to be eating a lot of candy and snacks; he had eventually realized this party, or rave, or whatever this was, was in a warehouse people actually lived in (as unlikely and probably unsafe as that seemed). The kitchen – which only had two real walls and was to Jimmy less a ‘kitchen’ and more a ‘weird area with kitchen things’ -- seemed like a reasonable place to hide out. He knew people did that, they hung out in kitchens at parties, and it was full of candy, in bowls that were very… trippy? A lot of things here, especially the walls in the tiny bathroom next to the kitchen, looked “trippy” to him. Jimmy had no plans to ever do trippy drugs, but he couldn’t imagine looking at such intense images while tripping being any kind of fun.
While he ate a handful of chocolate pretzels, Jimmy considered he must be wrong, given they were literally called “trippy”; that was probably the point, somehow. He was wondering if he could find Sausage later to get him to explain how it worked when he heard a very familiar, and welcome, voice close to his ear - closer than he’d let most people get. 
“What’s a handsome guy like you doing at a rave like this?”
Scott.
In real world time, on phones and watches and calendars, in every thing that the outside world could count, it had been barely any time at all since Jimmy had last seen Scott, but in LARP time it felt like years had passed, years since he’d heard the voice of his husband. Jimmy was still switching from one to the other, trying to get through all his lingering feelings (both positive and negative) and make the “default world” feel normal, like it was his only home. He’d never had a husband here, that was a game… but not one he’d be forgetting anytime soon.
Jimmy spun around, grinning and chuckling. 
Scott was… before he could see anything else, Jimmy saw Scott was wearing his flower crown, his red poppy flower crown that looks so perfect resting on his ice blue hair. He was stunned, but tried to not show it, to not stare at the crown, to take in all of Scott. (Everyone knew Scott loved being appreciated.)
Everything about Scott looked perfect, as always - he had a sense of style Jimmy couldn’t even dream of posessessing. Tonight Scott was dressed in a flowing light pink shirt that sparkled faintly in the flashing lights, the waist cinched and showing off his figure. His pants were, of course, too tight, and left little to the imagination. He was gorgeous and far sexier than was fair to Jimmy, and probably many other people. 
But the crown.
When they’d talked during debrief, after all the dead characters reunited as players, Jimmy had said he was happy with the idea of Scott taking the flower crown Jimmy had given him back into the rest of his life, integrating it into his normal wardrobe and life, not keeping it on a shelf like Jimmy had planned to do with his. He loved that it was something special, something he wanted to hold onto, though it was a surprise. When Scott asked about his own, Jimmy had said he wasn’t sure, that he wanted to get back home and decide. Scott had seemed fine with that.
It was good, it was sweet, but Jimmy hadn’t expected him to wear it  so soon , to wear it when they… well, maybe Scott had already put it all aside. Maybe he wasn’t having any emotional bleed from their days of being husbands 24/7, maybe it was just a random fun costume piece and not a costume piece that meant something, the way it did to Jimmy.
Why should it be anything else to Scott? It was just a larp love plot, after all. They happened all the time, they both liked playing them. Bleed happened all the time as well, even when people didn’t see it, roleplay emotions bleeding over into whatever was “normal”. Jimmy had never thought too hard about it, just tried to get back to “normal” as soon as he could. What if he  didn’t want to put those feelings aside, not fully? 
“--Jimmy? You with me?”
 yes of course, always
“Oh jeez, Scott, I’m really sorry, I’m just so tired still, what did you say?”
Scott didn’t seem upset - he simply leaned in and kissed Jimmy on the cheek, which was  not something they’d done before they played 3rd Life - though Jimmy was certainly not objecting.  
“The handsome prince needs his beauty sleep!” 
Jimmy chuckled - even since they’d started LARPing together, Scott never had any trouble making Jimmy laugh. Not that it was hard, and he wasn’t (yet?) as good at it as Martyn, but Martyn had known Jimmy much longer than Scott, and Martyn was the funniest person Jimmy had ever known.
“I said.. well, the moment’s gone.” Scott was mock pouting, wanting to be begged, or something like that to keep going. Jimmy was happy to play his part - it was always easy playing with Scott. 
“No, Scott, please? I’m really sorry, I genuinely promise I really want to hear. ”
Scott sighed in a put upon manner that Jimmy didn’t take at all seriously.
“I said, ‘what’s my handsome husband doing out at a rave like this?’”
Husband?
Jimmy tried not to sound awkward around the very handsome man he had just spent days roleplaying being in love with. (Those romantic feelings that of course were not bleeding through now, and definitely hadn’t been a bad idea to play given how he’d already felt about Scott. Right.) 
“Oh, heh, what’s, um, my husband doing in a place like this? In a rave like this, basically at a rave, I mean. Um, you know?”
Scott laughed, and Jimmy laughed, and Jimmy forgot about trying not to be awkward, forgot about LARPs, forgot about everything except enjoying Scott’s company.
—--
“Do you like the crown? Does it make me look cute?”
“What? Oh, yeah, of course! It’s lovely, you honestly look amazing, Scott,  I would never give you something to wear that I thought would make you – I mean, actually nothing could make you look, not good, right? It looks great, especially with your… Did you touch up your hair?”
Scott beamed at Jimmy’s somewhat awkward compliments, and his very awkward attempt to change the conversation away from the fact that Scott had caught Jimmy staring at his flower crown, probably many times, over the last ten minutes.
“You noticed!” Scott gave Jimmy another kiss on the cheek, and Jimmy resisted the urge to turn his face, to try and catch Scott’s lips with his own. 
 They’d probably just bump noses or something. 
“I thought it looked wonderful, barely any roots!” Jimmy was being honest. You couldn’t even see them in the pictures they’d gotten at Martyn’s little post-game photoshoot setup. Jimmy knew, because he’d looked at them an embarrassing number of times, starting on the drive home.
“Weeeellllll, I wanted to look pretty tonight, who knows who you might find in a place like this? And dressed so… appropriately.”
Scott looked up and down Jimmy appraisingly, apparently approvingly. Jimmy had been perfectly happy to wear a white t-shirt and black skinny jeans, like he always did, but his tendency to go along with plans without thinking too hard had left him in... raver clothes. His black tank top was 50% mesh, and his black raver pants… there was just  so much pants. They jutted out and flared at the bottom, giving the silhouette of an oversized, slouched triangle, while the black denim was decorated by crossing straps, buckles, rivets, and chains. This pair had allegedly been worn by several people Jimmy had met – in one case, two at once, by a pair of “terribly tiny twinks” drunk at a party. 
They weren’t uncomfortable, and Jimmy didn’t feel like he was out-of-place… but they didn’t make him feel in-place either. 
Scott, however, had instantly made Jimmy feel very at home. The problem was that Jimmy  knew Scott was flirting, but Scott was  always flirting. Was there any chance this flirting was different? Jimmy had no idea how to even guess, and he was unwilling to try the (unprecedented) “don’t let Scott flirt with you” option. 
To his own surprise, Jimmy decided to go with “try to flirt back for real”. He didn’t have a clear goal; he just… missed his husband. 
“You might even run into your own husband, how awkward!” 
Jimmy didn’t know if his words were any good, but he tried to pitch his voice and hold himself in a way that other people did when flirting. (The majority of flirting in Jimmy’s life had not been  Jimmy trying to flirt; it had generally been directed at him, and usually not noticed by Jimmy until someone told him, or in the most important case, just kissed him.)
Scott stepped in closer, absently putting his cocktail down on sticky vinyl paper that was doing its best to turn some plywood into a countertop. It was covered in gunk and rings from drinks; Jimmy would be surprised if the whole thing wasn’t actually made up of at least 60% spilled beer.
“Hmm, was my husband sneaking out to have fun without me? Looking so hot, off to find some pretty new boy? Honeymoon over, bored so soon?”
Jimmy had no idea what was going on, but he’d do anything to keep it from stopping. Scott was looking Jimmy in the eyes - so intensely, but always with that air of plausible deniability. Jimmy didn’t want Scott to deny himself anything.
He couldn’t think of anything clever to say, so he reached out, adjusted Scott’s only barely askew flower crown, gently pulled his hands back and told the truth.
“Never.”
[End Note: the rest is hopefully coming this month!]
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Oooooh I'm always interested in peoples structure and outlining process so 👀 22?
ah thank you for this question, i looove talking about structure and outlining! under a readmore bc this answer is loooong
22. describe your writing process from start to finish.
most of the examples here r from telemachus' detachment, bc i am very proud of that work, and i also did a LOT of work for it, because i was going through a slightly insane period and focusing on that really helped me kept going.
usually, the writing process for me starts off with a single piece of dialogue / scenario. i half-remember a tennesse williams quote where he's talking about how he starts off w a single "luminous image", and it's kind of like that. something just occurs to me and sticks. it then has to be sufficiently emotionally complicated / interesting for me to want to write it out. weirdly what became telemachus' detachment started off with a scene of stewy in a hotel room in hong kong watching kendall's s2 finale speech on TV.
i will usually then write down a lot of random scraps of dialogue / tiny bits of action in one word doc, in a vaguely ordered fashion but mainly as they occur to me. then they start to cohere, and that's when i start trying to pull it together into an outline. for shorter stuff, i probably won't outline, bc it can be done in one push - or if i do outline, it's basically a few bullet points to get the structure down on paper. for longer stuff, i find that i need to know where i'm working to or i'll lose focus / enjoyment and drift away from it. usually the outline will morph into a very very loose first draft - including little bits of dialogue, etc.
HOWEVER. this outline is like - never what the actual writing ends up being. i always think 'no this time i really will stick to the outline' and then during writing it massively changes. so, for example, here's an outline of telemachus' detachment during the writing process: everything after the ch.3 bulletpoint was abandoned bc it didn't feel right.
"Ch.1 finished for now
Ch.2, college + Logan forcing K.’s hand; focalise that all through the K. & the fact of hiding: make it about the twin poles of shame & love
Ch.2: Frame it by opening w/ the board meeting, Roman / Shiv; then end with Stewy watching the interview, and then flashback to Stewy’s reaction – just, here, to being broken up with
Ch.3, KenFest + Ken’s wedding – mirrors of each-other; how did Stewy cope with all of the hiding? End ch.3 with the confrontation about the interview; this moment of hope that Kendall will be free.
Then the drowning; Jess calls Stewy and he ends up at the hospital; he refuses to have any part in the siblings’ plots; Roman calls him a parasite and Stewy doesn’t care, he just wants Kendall to be alive.
Flashback; the various times Stewy has waited in hospitals
Ch.4: Logan dies / Dodds confession – Kendall is dragged back in; Stewy becoming an accessory on his side; he keeps loving him, he can’t not, but Kendall is changing – every dream of escape calcifying."
when i know roughly where i want the thing to go, i then have a checklist - this needs to happen, these people need to have this conversation, and i just work through that - not necessarily in order. though, for telemachus' detachment i would basically only figure out what the next chapter should be when i finished the first one.
there are then 3 very important word documents!
1 is simply the draft - i will usually split this up into smaller ones / chapters for ease and manoeuvrability. i tend to have a "Actual Thing" doc, so i can noodle around in other documents & draft stuff out without feeling the pressure of having it contribute to the whole thing, then will assemble it together.
2 is a 'deleted bits' draft. i find this so so important, bc it is a lot easier to simply cut and paste something away than it is to delete it from the face of the earth. also i will sometimes come back and rescue things from this document.
3 is a running commentary - this is where i keep notes to myself, outlines, and also what i'm going to do next. i like to try and follow the advice that you should always stop working in the middle of something that's going well, bc you will want to come back & do it the next day. always leave yourself a clear goal / target for the next time!! i like externalising a lot of my thinking.
this does mean i end up with a lot of word docs for one thing. i just counted and there are a total of 34 docs in my folder for telemachus detachment.
in terms of the actual writing, i tend to write dialogue first, especially if it's fic for a TV show. i find getting the rhythm of dialogue right tricky & v important! i sometimes write random dialogue that's nothing to do with the story just to get into the voices. i'll then go back and fill in everything else. if i'm writing something, i tend to become completely and totally obsessed w it, and think about it all the time, i quite often end up writing scraps of dialogue in the notes app on my phone, and then fleshing them out later.
if it's fic, i tend not to edit massively once it's got to the stage of actually being assembled in that final doc - it's probably already been through a fair amount of revision to get to that spot, and i really only have so much time and energy. i have no idea how to explain when something feels done apart from that it just clicks into place, and feels right. i work very much on a vibes basis, and i think i've read enough that my vibes r fairly well honed!
anyway this is very long but thank you again for asking!! i love to ramble about this
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notebooknonbinary · 1 year
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hey!! i was looking at your merthur fic recs, and i was wondering if you have any stranger things recs? i like reading longer fics in canonverse a lot, but i dont really have too many preferences hehe, anything you really enjoy, as a fellow mike-appreciator, would be amazing
Oh gosh☺️ making me feel like a fic rec authority. Making my day. Okay! Longer canon-verse with maybe an emphasis on the good-good son Mike Wheeler. (Fair warning, almost all the Mike fics I read are byler centric lol) Many of these fic authors have written multiple wonderful ST fics🥰
One of the first ST fics I ever bookmarked was A Hope to Cling To by midnighteverlark which is slightly canon divergent for the Shed Scene in season two. It’s a fic I return to often because it’s just a very lovely fic. It switches between Mike and Will POV and has five chapters.
@wiseatom just wrote a fic called just gotta call on me, which is a 5+1 fic about phone calls between Mike and Will. It is Very wonderful and takes place from post S2 to post series.
If you feel like crying @andiwriteordie wrote a lovely birthdaygate series called how light carries on endlessly where everyone forgets Will. Very lovely read but Ow it’s got me crying in the club. Post S4 and still ongoing.
paper rings by mogiah is a sweet fic that has a few angst moments. The Party plays the game of ‘where do you see yourself in ten years?’ while briefly trapped in the Upside Down. Mainly byler-centric
I don’t miss the feeling (of being alone) by boygirl is Lucas-centric & Partycule bc I’m a sucker for the main four as a couple and this one is lovely written. It’s so sweet and honestly just aaaa. Post canon and Max is alive ☺️ (ik this isn’t Really Mike centric but since one of the people Lucas likes in this is Mike I feel it qualifies. Also Lucas is 💕)
I’ll be your first, I’ll be your last by agustplz is a very wonderful 5+1 about Mike calling in dedications on the radio for Will.
@buck-yyyy wrote Is Hell Cold? It’s a season 5 speculation fic. It’s lovely, like poetry and I was lucky enough to be among the first to read it☺️ And they’ve got a lotta other wonderful fics to read too!!
I am, ofc, often vocal about my love for @perexcri ‘s writing. I recommend starting with To Hell and Back which is Very Romcom and fun and aaaa. Takes place during S5, Will and Mike get stuck in the Upside Down
reaching for starlight by chainangel is a Mike character study about gender. I Adore this fic So Very much (nonbinary Mike nonbinary Mike nonbinary Mike nonbinary Mi—)
Be the Boy by katbatsupreme, Mike overhears Will talking to Jonathan about his crush. I am a big ol’ sucker for Mike Jealous of Himself fics and this one is Very good🥰
I know the end by bookinit is a largely canon-compliant ST retelling with an emphasis on byler. And tbh Until byler is officially Together As Boyfriends On Screen, no one can tell me these fics aren’t canon. They’re on season 3 right now (Ow my Heart) and updating pretty regularly.
a game of truths by RomeoWrites, the title is pretty self explanatory☺️ very sweet. Goes from Pre-series to post:) Also! This writer wrote the boyfriend problem, where Ted thinks Mike and Will have been dating since pre-S1 very cute and funny
Us against the world by wasabi8000, immediately post-S4, Mike finally puts the pieces together about Will’s feelings. Sweet and a tiny bit angsty with a little bit of miscommunication. A good fic!
I hate accidents (except when we went from friends to this). by blackdeathmamba. A lovely 5+1 fic about Mike kissing Will but Will not realizing why. Miscommunication and lotta kisses:)
I’m sure you’ve already read a dream always the same by @sevensided (sorry to tag u), bc it is The Mike Wheeler centric fic, but just in case you haven’t, it’s an extremely well written, Wonderful fic (as are its’ sequels). Set post-S3.
eyecatcher by smoosnoom, Jealous Mike post-S4 with no angst, just Mike being pouty over girls getting crushes on Will. It’s very funny and cute!
mom I’m gay, wait you are too? By dragons_like_s’mores is sweet and silly and a fun read, and introduced me to a ship that I like but hadn’t thought of before lol. An offhand comment by Mike causes Karen’s lesbian awakening, while in the background Mike simps for Will and maybe learns how to do chores.
This is not an exhaustive list of all my fav fics but if I put All of them down we’d be here literally All Day lol
Also!!
Some of my mutuals/blogs I follow are in the process of fics which I will ofc reblog when they post them🥰🥰 (also friends please please feel free to add to this list, I’m Always in the mood to read ST fic)
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chidoroki · 1 year
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182 Days of TPN - Day 45
Chapter 45: “The Rescue”
When I first received my copy of the art book, I remember being so amazed at the details of this chapter’s cover page that I previously never noticed before (and I revisit this chapter a lot), but this little section with the duo is so clever! How Ray is placed in the exact same position as the drawing right underneath him with the kid in the jar and also putting Emma in front of the demon’s mouth like that are such smart moves. And I obviously can’t read the whole message behind her legs, but I can sorta make out “wake up/in danger/unfortunate/suffer,” which all apply perfectly to both her & Ray’s current situation right now. Seriously though, buy the art book if you can. The illustrations are in such a lovely quality. Even looking at it now, I’m gonna take a guess and say the words near Ray’s back say something like “How are you feeling Ray?” (Also, if demons don’t have lips, then how the hell did that one GF demon whistle two chapters ago??)
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I must focus on other scenes in this chapter so much that I forgot Sonju actually uses smoke bombs. For the longest time I believed they were just an anime addition..oops.
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Yeaaah, they’re certainly not the smartest demons around. To be fair, they couldn’t see through all the smoke either.
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Now, I love that Ray’s mind never stops working even after getting snatched up by a completely strange and possibly dangerous “person” because it just suits him to be cautious, but typical anime doesn’t allow us to hear his thoughts.
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On the flip side however, I do enjoy how it shows how frightened Ray really is. This boy was just chased by several demons, barely survived by getting kidnapped basically and woke up completely alone, with no knowledge of the status or whereabouts of his family. Sure, he’s normally the calm and analytical one out of the trio, but even someone like him would have to be panicking at least a little bit after everything he just went through and I think the anime shows that (& his left eye pfft) really well.
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Yes I also gave praise towards the anime once before for remembering something so minor such as the bell Mujika left for Emma. And (knowing me) I’m sure I noticed this several times in the past, but it looks as if Ray’s checking her ear too, right? That’s sweet.. all the anime gave us was a couple taps on her shoulder.
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The amount of relief on my son’s mf face! AAAH! He’s so damn precious he makes me wanna cry. And I know I keep going back and forth between giving praise to both medias but I personally like the anime better for this wholesome expression.
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Can confirm that Mujika’s voice is very nice, both in sub & dub, though I love Ray’s comment about it and how he’s a bit wary. Dude knows first hand that being kind and having a sweet voice doesn’t necessarily mean that person is trustworthy.. I mean, have you seen his mother? (and I skipped a big moment, I know. I scream about it at the end). 
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Mixed feelings about him holding his arm out in front of her when Mujika approaches them. Emma is the one person who can certainly protect herself (also doesn’t necessarily need it because main character plot armor) but also aww, look at him being so serious about keeping his promise yet again.
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While we don’t get the scene of Mujika checking Emma’s ear or shaking her hand, we do get a shot a bit later showing that her hand is indeed still covered, so at least there’s some consistency there with keeping her demon appearance a secret just for a few moments longer.
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Of course he notices something’s off. He just calmed down after experiencing one of the harshest days of this life and now he’s about to freak out all over again.
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The level of confidence he has in his assumption despite all the fears the the truth is bringing out of him. Also, the way Sonju just looms silently in the back while those bugs shed tiny specks of light on him is so nice. This frame doesn’t do it justice but just go back and watch it. And I don’t listen to the s2 soundtrack nearly enough as I should (seriously, Obata is fantastic and I’m so glad we got him back for another season), but the start of “The Evil-Blooded Girl” playing during this scene is perfect.
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I still can’t believe this is where the first ep of season two ends.. literally SO MUCH happened these last 8 chapters and they decided to cram in all in less than 20 minutes?? Granted they managed to cut out quite a lot, but still! The first episode went way too quick, as if the OP sequence wasn’t enough of a red flag already about how much this season would possibly cover. Speaking of fast, my boy looks like he’s ready to run for his life again and no doubt about to drag Emma along with him.
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Favorite panel/moment:
THEIR DAMN HUG!!! Again, I read through unofficial translations the first time but even now I prefer the “You’re still alive.. I’m so glad you’re alive!” a little better? It ties back in with Emma’s original worries when Ray first offered to lead the demons away, but the official gets the same point across though. REGARDLESS, this panel is filled with so many feelings and it of course sends waves of emotion over me as well.
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And I know I shouldn’t bitch about how the anime handled it and should instead be glad they even included it at all since they decided to cut out so much of the entire story in general, but it just.. doesn’t hit as hard as I hoped? Naturally, their voice actresses did a lovely job as always, but I dunno.. the way the manga has it all framed just looks better to me? like Emma is desperately hanging onto him there and overcome with an immense sense of relief that Ray managed to escape those demons alive. And I’m not real fond of how they animated Ray returning the hug either, like who wraps one arm around someone and then the other?? It just feels so slow and awkward to me. I can easily excuse it like “oh it’s Ray, the boy who distanced himself from everyone else all his life, he doesn’t know how to hug properly,” ..but he also has Emma as a friend and I’m certain she gave hugs to literally everyone without warning all the time so he has to be used to them by now.
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ALSO! Can’t be entirely happy about because they left out THE HEAD PAT!!! How dare they.. it’s probably my favorite one too.
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My nitpicking aside, I’m truly happy we still got to see this embrace. It ain’t perfect, but it’s decent and most importantly, at least it’s there.
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luckyqueenreign · 11 months
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Playing s2 again.. Saying to myself I’ll do a loyal Gary route. Meanwhile thinking about Noah and how I’m going to fall down that rabbit hole again. I swear idk what it is but after doing his route I just keep wanting to do his route. I think you’ve said you love Noah right? Got some headcannons for him and MC while in the villa? 👀
BESTIE THIS IS LITERALLY ME!!!
after my first Noah route I was like let me try a different route and then immediately fell back into Noah. When you actually do a route without flirting with him or picking his options it's actually heartbreaking bc he basically ignores u and I cant handle that.
for some Noah/MC HCs...in my playthroughs I always have MC choose Noah first bc I picture that even that even though he didnt step forward for her there was an instant gravitational pull that made MC at least see what might be with Noah. And when she chooses him he's always so surprised which I liken to him thinking MC is completely out of his league and would never choose him so why bother stepping forward and embarrassing himself. I always felt like Noah was a tiny bit insecure at the start of the show but slowly he gains more confidence as the season progresses.
MC is a girls girl. She helps her friends in anyway she can and she's never been snakey before but no matter how hard she tries she finds herself being pulled back to Noah. And the other guys see it too. So many of them find MC to be super attractive but they can all see her loyalties lie elsewhere. it's why she's in so many couples throughout the season. They all notice that MC always seems to choose Noah in challenges, or how she really laughs at his jokes, and how she fully listens and hangs on every word he says. But they also see that Noah does the exact same thing. he watches her when he thinks no one is looking, he walks past her a little closer than he needs to just to have a momentary touch, she's always the first person he looks for in the room and smiles at when they wake up in the morning. Their hugs last a little longer than they should and their chats always last a little longer than they should.
I literally have so many and this post could go on forever. I LOVE me some Noah.
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firebirdsdaughter · 2 years
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Something else that gets me…
… About s1 is during the Poor Communication Kills ep, when Neal (somehow?) only just notices the ring photo and gets convinced the person who ‘‘‘‘‘kidnapped’’’’’ Kate (I’ll eat my photoboard if she was actually as kidnapped as he thought she was—like I’m sure Adler was pressuring her a bit in some way, I don’t think she was a monster, but I highly doubt she was the poor helpless victim acting under threat, she was another agent of Adler’s, she proves that by calling him later, she just used Neal’s blind devotion to her to play him)… You can tell he’s particularly shaken up (him losing control of his emotions and physically lashing out is usually reserved for Kate in s1, but this is only indirectly related) and then Mozzie genuinely tells him he’s sorry. No immediate ‘ha ha said you couldn’t trust suits.’ Genuinely tells him he’s sorry. And even when Mozzie does go back to the anti government rhetoric, it’s much more gentle and not proud or ‘I told you so.’ Mozzie knows just how painful this apparent discovery is for Neal, and he’s taking it absolutely seriously. I don’t feel like he’d do that if it were anyone else. Notably, he also never collected a file on Peter, even though Neal said ‘everyone’ so he went and got Lauren and Jones (that pic was clearly not Jones).
I feel like you see/get a lot more evidence of Peter’s fondness stretching back before he caught Neal, but this like a small moment of seeing that the same is true for Neal, in a way. He’s been a lost kid, a run away, all his life, running w/ other run aways. Somehow, and some point, something in Peter’s investigation of him turned into something else? I think Neal was projecting a father figure onto Peter for far longer than he strictly realised—their dynamic shifted from just Peter trying to arrest him to something more friendly. And what’s an all but orphan to feel about someone who cares where he is all the time, who gives him respect and thinks he’s smart/praises his abilities but also scolds and tries to get him to stop running wild? He sent him birthday cards and cookies (apparently??? I dunno when, but apparently). Postcards. That’s the kinda thing a kid overseas sends to their parents. I think you also see it a little in the flashback ep in s2, where Neal is all excited about being ‘at the top of the pile’ of files. He’s all like ‘but I was your favourite, right, right???’ Seriously, how did Matt Bomer nail the human embodiment of a puppy??? I do think pre actually working/spending time together it was completely subconscious, like that Marco Polo thing from Bones where she talks about how much it meant to have someone care where you were at any given time. For all he’s gotten good at living on his own, Neal missed family and I think a part of him latched onto Peter to fill that void w/out his even realising (completely understandable, when written in character, Peter is an extremely fatherly dude). He may not have totally realised it, but he felt a bond w/ Peter. And Mozzie presumably witnessed that.
It just feels like it’s too soon for Mozzie to be accepting Neal’s feelings about Peter w/ such sincerity if it’s just based on since his release from prison, bc he sees Peter/the FBI as still controlling Neal. The first ep makes it already so clear how familiar Peter and Neal are w/ each other, and since Neal and Mozzie clearly at least stayed in touch, Mozzie presumably at least knew Neal’s side of it. He’s not rubbing it in his face bc this is an apparent betrayal that he knows Neal would never have thought possible, and that must go further back than a couple of months. And tbh, going by Mozzie’s earnestness, I don’t think he thought it’d happen, either.
I dunno if any of that made sense, but it’s just. Interesting to me how they don’t really focus on it, it’s a tiny moment, but they make it very clear just how upsetting this apparent discovery is to Neal, w/ Mozzie’s reaction making it even deeper.
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munsons-maiden · 2 years
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I just finished the finale and wanted to offer my condolences.
As soon as he had that line where he said they weren't heroes I said "Aw shit, Eddie's gonna die."
It was so stupid, though. Completely pointless. I wasn't particularly attached to Eddie but it was insanely frustrating how incredibly pointless it was. The whole time I was saying "Why is he doing this?"
I'm no longer invested in this show at all. Bob's death in S2 was pretty stupid too (Who stops to look lovingly at their girlfriend while being chased by monsters?). In S3 I pretty much only cared about the Steve/Dustin/Robin bits. There were so many moments this season that made me go "BLUH" from just super cheezy/obvious dialogue. Surely a show should get better with more money, right?
That's very kind of you, dear 🖤
The moment Eddie died, Stranger Things died with him for me. And I hate myself for still clinging on to that tiny frayed sliver of hope that they will bring him back.
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bronzeagepizzeria · 2 years
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Hey, can you share some of your favorite head canons for Tentoo and Rose? And Mia too ❤️
hello! i absolutely can! (they're literally all i think about. ever.)
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I think things would be a little rocky at first---it is, after all, a very messy situation and the man who's just offered to spend the rest of his life with Rose also happens to be the one who left without saying goodbye; but I don't think they'd ever separate or take time apart to 'find themselves' or anything (they've just found each other after such a long time apart...after what they thought was a final separation) they've missed each other so much and even though the situation is confusing and tiring and draining---they can't bear to be away from each other for too long.
However, I don't think they'd immediately jump into a relationship. They'd probably rebuild their friendship first (both Rose and the Doctor have changed a LOT since s2) which would take a while; they'd have to learn each other all over again.
They don't mind.
They only have the one shot at getting this right and they're not going to ruin it by slapping a bandaid over their problems.
Once they finally do get together, it'd probably be a rehash of s2 tenrose, only with a lot more touching and kissing and shagging (lots and lots of shagging) minus the angst of ten being 'last of the timelords' and having to watch Rose 'wither and die' because now he's not and that's a huge weight off his shoulders.
Basically, tenrose with twice the amount of codependency and a lot less angst.
I think Rose would continue to work at Torchwood and the Doctor would join her, or maybe he'd just consult. It'd be difficult for him to adjust to at first---he's used to saving the day and not having to actually stick around and ensure that things are rebuilt properly but now, he does and it would change his perspective on a lot of things.
He'd be a lot more protective of Rose than ten was--more reckless and irrational because she is the only thing he has in this world and he's prepared to do almost anything to ensure that this one, fleeting, human life they have isn't cut short by anything.
Similarly, he's no longer the nearly infallible, ethereal being he once was, and Rose is constantly worried about him because he can be very careless and this is his one life and there won't be any do-overs this time.
This new, new, new dynamic would be the point of contention in most of their fights.
I don't think that their engagement/wedding would be a very big deal. They don't really strike me as the type of people who'd perform extravagant romantic gestures for each other and their wedding would probably be a last minute, tiny little thing (which would irritate Jackie to no end lol)
I also don't think they'd plan to get pregnant. It would be an accident; albeit a happy one. The Doctor would be scared out of his mind (of course he would) but he'd be excited too, because he can't believe that this is something that's actually possible for him now and he absolutely cannot mess it up.
He's had children before and he knows he wouldn't have won any father of the year awards--but this? This second chance at fatherhood he's getting?
This is the only type of immortality he's ever going to have again.
Rose would be afraid too; I imagine having a baby would be enough to terrify anyone but she's going to have one that isn't completely human and she'd probably be insecure about not being able to keep up.
They aren't perfect at it, (no one is), but they love their impossible little miracle so much and it makes up for all the mistakes they make on the way.
Mia's brilliant and she has her father wrapped around her little finger before she's even said her first words
The Doctor wears jeans sometimes; even though his go-to outfit remains the same and he grows a bit of a stubble because Rose finds it incredibly sexy
PDA PDA SO MUCH PDA
He still misses the TARDIS, and he still gets the urge to run (never away from his family, though), to see the stars up close again, and then Rose winds her arms around him from behind while he cooks them breakfast (because she's a disaster in the kitchen) and Mia plants messy kisses all over his face during playtime and he remembers that out of the two Doctors on the beach that day, he's the lucky one.
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fific7 · 3 years
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Dangerous and Divine - Epilogue
Billy Russo x Reader
Summary: Billy Russo is an itch you don’t want to scratch. But he’s all over you like a rash.
A/N: The final part!! This does not follow canon, it’s mainly fluff & lemon zest 🍋 Hopefully you’ve guessed by now that is my “Billy Russo Deserves Real Love AU” as I totally refuse to accept what happened in S2! The GIF is from Exposed, unreleased pilot show in case you’re wondering 😌... Billy vibes.
Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content including oral and unprotected* sex between consenting adults. Some drinking & swearing.
*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.
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(My GIF)
Six Months Later
You opened up your eyes slowly, becoming aware of a finger trailing gently down your arm; it felt like a butterfly fluttering on your skin. Two dark chocolate eyes were gazing down into yours, sparkling with mischief.
“Good morning, Mrs Russo,” a very self-satisfied Billy Russo whispered, smiling at you.
You yawned, stretching out out your limbs and enjoying the feeling of a light breeze on your body coming through the patio doors.
“Morning, Billy,” you replied, reaching up and kissing his lips, scratching a finger along his bristly jaw. “And how is my wife this morning?” he asked, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “I’m good... actually, very good,” you smiled up at him. “Just as well we’ve got our own villa, angel. You were so noisy last night, screaming my name,” he teased.
Getting up, you stretched again, aware of Billy’s eyes on you as you picked up your little silky robe, slowly putting it on and enjoying the disappointed look on his face. “That’s just to big up your male ego, poppet,” you teased back. He flung himself onto his back on the bed, faux-sulking, “How can you say that, sweetheart?! ....after I kept you up half the night making love to you?”
“Only half the night? Would’ve thought the love god that is Billy Russo would be claiming it was all night!!” A pout instantly appeared on his handsome face and that was just too much, so you leant down over him, stroking his face and kissing him passionately. He grabbed you, pulling you down onto him and your robe came off a lot faster than it went on, unceremoniously dumped on the floor. “Ride me,” he whispered in your ear.
You had to bring him back down to earth though, as you quite urgently needed to visit the bathroom and so you’d extricated yourself from his arms and stood up, picking up your robe. The pout had got even poutier and his eyes looked huge as he gazed up at you from where he lay on the crisp white Egyptian cotton sheets. “Oh, okayyy,” he drawled, grinning, both hands going up behind his head as he lazed back on the pillows, “....so now we’re married, you’re gonna start slappin’ sex bans on me, huh?” You slipped your robe back on and put your hands on your hips, “Billy Russo! Don’t be such a drama king! You’d think you were on your honeymoon or something!” He just kept on grinning at you.
“Well! You either wait two minutes so I don’t have an accident on those lovely clean sheets, or maybe I’d better just call my divorce lawyer right now!” you mock-threatened. His face fell, “Angel! I’m only jokin’ y’know!” You burst out laughing, “Me too, you silly big sap! But not about going to the bathroom!” Flouncing out of the bedroom, hearing his answering laugh as you went.
»»————————————-———- ⚜ ———————————-————-««
Once you were in the bathroom, you let your mind drift back over the last few days. You and Billy had been married just two days ago, a small wedding just as you both wanted with close family and friends only (Billy’s Marine buddies being his family). You’d had the most perfect day, but after all the planning and rushing around in the run-up to the big day, you felt as if it had all gone by in a flash. Whoosh - and it was all over. One minute Karen and your little cousin had been fussing round you, helping with your hair, your makeup, your dress, and in no time at all - it seemed - Billy was taking your hand and leading you out of the reception party, accompanied by a chorus of wolf whistles and catcalls.
You two had stayed that night in the beautiful hotel in upstate New York where the wedding had been held. Billy had picked you up ‘bridal style’ while you were in the hotel elevator and then carried you along the corridor to your suite, kicking the door shut behind him and laying you gently down on the bed. Then he had slowly and sensually slid your wedding dress and underskirts up over your thighs, smile as bright as the sun as he ran his hands over your stockings and garter belt, pushed aside your lacy underwear and had taken you right there and then, whispering to you all the while that now you were truly his.
The next day, you and Billy had flown from JFK to Ibiza in the Balearic Islands, Spain. He’d been surprised when you’d said where you wanted to go for your honeymoon. He thought you’d want to go to the Caribbean or the Maldives or suchlike. But you’d spent some very happy times there when you were on your travels a while back, and you knew he’d love the laid-back vibe of the island.
So he’d booked a luxurious villa for a whole month, in the pine-clad hills above a large cove with a beach called Cala Llonga, east of Ibiza Town. The aromatic scent in the air was truly intoxicating and you closed your eyes, inhaling it from the small breeze making its way through the bathroom window, open just a tiny bit.
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You sighed happily; both workplaces had been asked to contact you only in a dire emergency and with Frank and Jake left in charge while you and Billy were on honeymoon, after initially being anxious about being away for so long you now felt surprisingly relaxed about it.
Washing your hands and making your way back to the bedroom, you smiled as you saw your new husband sprawled out on the bed, naked and looking at you with a devilish smirk on his handsome face.
»»————————————-———- ⚜ ———————————-————-««
Billy happily stretched out on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and hearing the water running in the bathroom in the background. The more he thought about it, the more he could hardly believe it - he’d actually managed to persuade her to marry him. He really thought he’d blown it when he’d proposed the first time. When she’d changed her mind and said ‘Yes’, he’d been so happy he thought he’d explode like a human hand grenade.
Still somewhat surprised about his complete turnaround from playboy to lovesick sap, he’d decided long before the wedding to just lie back and accept what the Fates had in store for him. Maybe they’d decided to give him some good karma for a change, after his solitary and loveless childhood and the difficulties he’d had after he left the Marines.
He thought back to just before the wedding ceremony, when Frank had been helping him tie his silver silky cravat after he’d put on his fancy morning suit and dress shirt. His big friend had suddenly clasped his shoulder, saying gruffly, “Bill.... you’ve finally got a chance to be ‘Happy Ever After’, y’know bud. Don’t fuck it up, whatever you do.”
Grabbing the big paw on his shoulder, he’d said sincerely, “I won’t, Frankie... believe me, I won’t.”
He’d also thought about a text he’d received the night before the wedding, and which he’d decided not to mention to his girl. Because it was from Madani. She’d heard the news about Billy getting married from Sam, who he’d met by chance in a local bar a few days before the wedding.
Typical vitriolic Madani, he thought. Saying how he was making a big mistake and he’d regret it in the end. Meaning, of course, because he hadn’t chosen her. Hadn’t even wished the two of you well, couldn’t bring herself to make even that small concession.
Bitch. He’d angrily deleted the text along with the whole string of her past messages, and had then deleted her contact details out of his phone. A feeling of great satisfaction had washed over him as he’d hit the ‘Delete Contact’ button on Dinah Madani. Gone and very definitely forgotten.
Now he looked over to see his angel walking back towards him, looking totally edible in her silky robe.
Grinning, he patted the sheet next to him, “C’mere, sweetheart....”
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Billy grabbed your wrist, pulling you down next to him and pouncing on top of you. The robe came off again and he was kissing you hungrily, appetite undiminished even after your mutual athletics the night before. He ran his hands all over you, pulling your body closer against his, telling you how much he loved you, wanted you, needed you. Then he rolled over onto his back, grinning over at you, “C’mon, angel... I need you to ride me.”
Grinning back at him, “Might do,” you replied. He shook his head, “No, really.... angel... you need to do it and do it now.” You also lay down on your back, “What’s the consequences if I don’t?” you teased. He looked horrified, “You sayin’ No to me?” You shrugged, smirking. “Angel! Please.... what... uhhh... do I gotta beg?” You nodded, “I think you do.” So Billy sighed, getting up and then kneeling beside the bed, hands clasped together and held up in supplication to you, “Please, goddess, m’beggin’ you.... pleeeease! Please!”
From your lofty perch on the bed, you looked down at the male masterpiece currently on his knees in front of you. The early morning sun highlighted his sculpted muscles to perfection, including the delicious-looking erection he was sporting, and you couldn’t keep up the pretence any longer. You reached down and grabbed a handful of his hair, tugging on it several times as his now-grinning face looked up at you.
“Ahhh... so I got the green light, goddess?” You nodded imperiously, and he leapt up and onto the bed at the speed of light. You pushed his shoulders down into the pillows and climbed on top of him, seeing his eyes widen in anticipation. Leaning over, you slid your fingers to the back of his neck and began gently stroking, then took his ‘tache between your lips and sucked gently, before running your tongue over it and then sucking again. Hearing small whimpers coming from him, you moved on to the tufty bit of beard under his bottom lip, giving it the same treatment. Then you ran your tongue very slowly over his bottom lip and suddenly you heard an agonised ‘Fuck!” from Billy, and wetness spread over your stomach and thighs.
Sitting up, you looked down in surprise at the sheen you could see glinting on your skin. A very sheepish-looking Billy was gazing up at you, “Uhhh....m’sorry, angel,” he whispered, “....y’got me too excited.” He covered his eyes with one big hand, then you saw two dark chocolate eyes peeking out between his fingers at you. “Are you mad at me?” he asked, somewhat fearfully. You leant down and kissed his nose, “No! Course not, Billy.”
He slid his hand away from his face, “Really? Been goin’ on at you to ride me then don’t even get inside you before.....!” and he gestured at the pearly liquid on your skin. His face was tinged pink by now, “M’so embarrassed!” he wailed. “Honestly, Billy.... I’m not mad at you,” you said, tweaking his nose between finger and thumb before getting up and heading through to the bathroom. Grabbing a handful of baby wipes you went back to the bedroom, sitting on the bed and quickly cleaning yourself up before teasing Billy by running a baby wipe slowly and sensually along his velvety length. You heard some low soft moans from him, and knew it wouldn’t be very long before he was fully aroused again.
So you kept on stroking him. Laying the baby wipe aside, you continued using just your hand on him. “Sweetheart, what you tryin’ to do to me?” he asked in a breathy voice. “Oh, poppet.... I think you know exactly what I’m doing,” you smirked down at him, loving the way he looked at that moment, vulnerable and at your mercy, big wide eyes gazing up at you, lips parted slightly. You slid your hand in between his legs, taking hold of his balls, gently massaging and squeezing them while still working his cock with your other hand. He squirmed below you, breath catching in his throat, one hand going to the hand you were stroking him with and pulling it to the head of his cock. Taking the hint, you concentrated on it, squeezing and rubbing at it while Billy writhed under you, letting out a string of swears.
Then you decided to add a little something to the mix and leant down to lick him, letting your tongue drag over his tip back and forth with quite some force. Billy had cried out really quite loudly as you started doing that and you smiled, thinking he’d made a good point about having a private villa. You could both be really noisy when you wanted to be. Feeling him stiffening in your hand, you increased the speed and firmness of your stroking and also took him more fully into your mouth.
“Please.... sweetheart!” groaned Billy, “....gotta get inside you... please!!!” You could hear him beginning to pant so without further delay you guided him inside you, before sinking down onto his length. He gave a long low moan, while you gasped with pleasure as soon as he was fully sheathed inside you. Billy was giving out soft whimpering moans and began desperately thrusting up into you, hands running up the sides of your body onto your breasts and he began slowly massaging. In turn you started moving on him, hands on his chest, relishing the feeling of both his firm muscled body and how he filled you completely. “You...” Billy whispered, big dark eyes gazing up at you, “...you’re perfect for me, angel. Fit me like a glove.” His hand moved down to where your bodies were joined and began rubbing your clit with his thumb.
“Could say the same about you, Marine,” you breathed against his ear, leaning down and giving him a dirty open-mouthed kiss before moving your mouth onto his neck beard, and running your tongue over it. You felt Billy tense up and knew he was about to climax, and you felt your own orgasm building. Both of you were wound up tighter than springs! You wrapped your arms round your new husband’s shoulders and let the waves of pleasure roll over you.
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A lot later on, you and Billy strolled down to Cala Llonga and joined the small queue of people waiting on the little stone jetty for the water taxi to Ibiza Town. The boat was fairly small and you all crammed onto the wooden benches which filled most of it. Billy wrapped his arm round you, glaring at the Dutch guy sitting on the other side of you who’d been smiling and trying to make small talk with you. “We’re on honeymoon,” he growled at him, butting in just as the guy asked where you were staying. “Oh that’s great, congratulations!” he said, and you’d smiled at him, “Thank you.” Billy however was still glowering at the poor guy, so you elbowed him and he said reluctantly, “Yeah, thanks.”
You tried to distract Billy by pointing out several landmarks as the boat bobbed and puttered its way round the coast, and then the main town on the island came into sight as you rounded the last headland.
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Billy gazed at the sight of the Dalt Vila (Old Town) in front of him and said in an awestruck voice, “Oh hey, that’s so pretty.” You smirked at him, “Told you you’d love it.” He looked back to you, “What’re our plans for this afternoon then?” Pleased that he was handing over the reins to you, smiling fondly at him you said, “Well, first of all I’m gonna make sure my hungry husband gets fed and watered. There are some lovely little outdoor restaurants along the marina.” You heard his stomach rumbling quietly as you mentioned food and he gave you a huge grin, “Now that’s what I call a plan.”
Stepping off the ferry, you guided him to one of the restaurants you’d eaten at before, and chose one of the tables at the front overlooking the yacht moorings. There were quite a few superyachts - some the size of small ocean liners - moored up so the oligarchs were in town, you thought to yourself.
The two of you enjoyed a leisurely lunch, before heading into the maze of narrow streets of the Old Town. Strolling right up to the old church at the very top of the hill, Billy oohing and ahhing at the whitewashed old houses and the view once you reached the church. He leant on the wall enclosing the courtyard in front of the church, looking out over the town, the two marinas and the surrounding hills and you heard a big happy sigh. He turned his head towards you, “This is perfect. You’re perfect. I love this place. And I love you.” He leant in for a kiss, and things started to get a bit raunchy before you heard a throat being cleared loudly behind you. The two of you broke apart, turning to find two elderly Spanish ladies glaring at you with outraged expressions on their faces.
You smiled at them, “Ah... lo siento, señoras, estamos en nuestra luna de miel.” Instantly, large smiles appeared on their faces and they moved away in a flurry of waving hands and staccato Spanish which you couldn’t quite catch. “What d’you say to them, sweetheart?” asked Billy. “That we’re on our honeymoon,” you grinned, “...didn’t understand all of the replies but rest assured, we’re forgiven!” He leaned in, “Well, reckon we should pick up where we left off then,” mouth back on yours. You surreptitiously ran a hand over the zip of his jeans and felt an interesting bulge there, hearing his low gasp, “Okay, but we better leave most of it till we get back to the villa... otherwise we’ll get arrested!” He sighed, nuzzling your neck, “Couldn’t we just go down one of these little streets an’.....” Laughing, you walked away holding out your hand to him, “No we can’t! C‘mon, tiger,” and with a pout firmly in place he followed, taking your hand in his.
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Heading back down through Dalt Vila into the main part of town, you came to Paseo Vara de Rey, a wide, short tree-lined boulevard near the marina. In the evenings, the locals would come here for their before-dinner strolls, stopping for a chat with friends or a quick aperitif. It was just starting to get a bit busier as locals and tourists alike came along to enjoy the late afternoon sun.
You and Billy joined the strolling groups of people, looking in the shop windows and at people sitting in the open-air café sections, gradually making your way towards the marina end of the Paseo. Steering him towards a large hotel situated on the corner of Vara de Rey and into the cool white interior of its bar, you suggested he might want to buy you a cocktail. Leaning on the bar, he grinned at you, “Okay, I will... but then can we go back to the villa?”
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“But why do you want to go back to the villa, Billy? I thought you were having a nice time here in town?” “I am!” he protested, “...and you know perfectly well why I wanna go back!” said with an accompanying eyebrow wiggle, “...we’re on our honeymoon!”
One of the barmen overheard him, “Ah, señor y señora! Let us make you very special cocktails in celebration of your wedding!!” Bill looked round, embarrassed, “Oh no.. s’okay, honestly - we’re fine, thanks.” Shaking his head vigorously, the barman grabbed a couple of cocktail shakers and tossed one of them to his co-worker, “But we must! It will take just a few moments.”
Then there was a flurry of pouring, shaking, ice, fruit and citrus slices being added before a couple of glasses were placed on the bar in front of you with a flourish. You and Billy eyed each other before taking a sip from your drinks. It was pleasant enough - you could taste rum and fruit - but not particularly what you’d’ve chosen for yourself. However, in the same spirit as the drinks were offered, you both made appreciative noises and thanked them profusely, before escaping to a table by the window overlooking Vara de Rey. Sitting down, Billy chuckled, “I guess I better learn to keep my big trap shut!” You agreed, “You’re forgetting that most of the locals speak really good English, so don’t be giving away any more of our secrets!” “What... like the fact you love my dick and think it’s really pretty?” he sniggered, while you slapped his arm, looking round quickly to make sure no-one had heard him.
Seeing no-one within earshot, you leant forward and said, “No... more like you telling me you’re in love with my ‘perfect pussy’ and how you’d be inside me 24/7 if you could be!” He snorted out some of his drink, and the two of you just sat and laughed at each other for a few moments in sheer happiness. “I love you,” he said, serious all of a sudden. “I mean, like really love you.” You smiled at him over the rim of your glass, “Well that’s good, Russo, cos I love you. Like, really love you.” Again, you sat looking at each other with goofy grins on your faces. You caught sight of both barmen looking over at you and smirking so you finished the last of your cocktail, purposefully making a noisy sucking sound through your straw as you did. “Hey, Billy... will we have one more drink and then head back?”
His eyes lit up, “Yeah!!! What d’ya want to drink this time round, angel?” “I’ll just have a mojito, please.” A few minutes later, a luscious mojito-filled glass was placed in front of you, while Billy had decided on a Sidecar, which he polished off in a few quick gulps and then sat looking expectantly at you. Shaking your head and laughing at him, you said, “I won’t be downing my lovely mojito as if it was a beer, Billy. I will be sipping it in a ladylike manner.” His face fell, “Oh.” “You’ll just have to be patient, loverboy.” He perked up a bit, “But if I’m a good patient boy, I’ll get a nice reward when we get back to the villa, yeah?” You patted his silky-haired head, “Yes, you will,” and couldn’t resist tugging on a few locks of it while you were at it. His grin grew devilish, “You wanna tug on something else, angel?” You slid your hand onto his thigh under the table, giving him a very innocent smile, “No, I am not going to lower the tone of this fancy hotel bar by misbehaving, Mr Russo.” His hand covered yours on his thigh and pulled it up onto his zip, “Well, I haveta say I’m very disappointed, Mrs Russo,” before bringing your hand up to his lips and kissing it, putting on his best puppydog eyes and pout.
You had to admit, a frisson of excitement had run through you as he’d done that - Billy had made sure you realised he had an impressive erection. So in fact you picked up your mojito and drained the glass like a sailor who’d just hit a bar after six months at sea. “Okay, Billy,” you smirked, “....you win. Let’s go, tiger.” Billy sprang up from the table and pulled you by the hand towards the door, waving over at the barmen as he went, while you gave them a smile as you passed them.
Then you had to contend with an impatient Billy, pacing up and down at the marina while you were waiting on the water taxi back to Cala Llonga. Eventually it appeared, and Billy hustled you on board, making you sit at the back and beginning to kiss you as he boxed you into the corner seat. More passengers joined soon though and you pushed him back slightly, “Billy.... behave, please. We don’t want to upset any more people with PDA’s.” He grinned, “Okay, okay, I’ll keep my hands and my mouth to myself ... for now.” As the boat began to manoeuvre backwards and away from the quayside, you pointed at the town, “So, what did you think of Ibiza Town then?” Billy nodded, “Yeah, I loved it. It’s beautiful. But y’know, as long as you’re with me.... wherever we are, that’s what I really love.” You poked him in the side, “You big sap!” you laughed and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, “...but you’re my big sap, as they say.”
Those gorgeous dark eyes of his sparkled back at you, and his hand stroked your cheek, “Yeah I am, sweetheart... and that’s the most important thing. It’s all anyone needs to know about us. I’m yours, and you’re mine. And we’re in love. And together. Forever.” You put your lips next to his ear, “Yes, Billy... forever,” you whispered as the little boat carried the two of you away into the gathering dusk.
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Additional A/N: Hope you enjoyed this little journey with Billy and his sweetheart. All I ever wanted for Billy Russo was for him to be happy. Maybe we’ll meet these two again, who knows? Thanks so much for reading.
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@blackbirddaredevil23 @galaxyjane @omgrachwrites @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @ourloveisforthelovely @swthxrry
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Note
Hey~~ could you write Annie x reader? What I had in mind was towards the end of s1 when Annie was trying to climb up the wall, could she try and take reader with her because they always talked about being together? Kinda like when Ymir took Historia in s2, and I really love your writings 💕 thanks~
TAsdfhjksfadh you didn’t specify whether Annie made it over the wall with the reader or not so uh I just kinda picked one lol hope you don’t mind
Also, sorry this is a little late, I've been feeling just a little sick for the past couple of days.
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Prove It
(Annie Leonhart x Reader)
AU: Canon
Warnings: Season 3 spoilers
Category: Mostly angst, little fluff
Summary: When Annie was outed as the Female Titan, she didn’t have a lot of options on where to go. And, as the fight between her and Eren progresses, it becomes clear her best option is to flee. Yet, there’s just one thing she can’t leave without. And it seems the feeling’s mutual.
Words: 3.1K
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That wicked laughter.
It rung through the empty streets of Stohess, abandoned specifically for this military operation.
The goal? To lure out the suspected Female Titan, Annie Leonhart. Your girlfriend.
At first, you were violently against participating in the operation. You weren’t going to incriminate her, that would be incredibly faithless. Really, you wanted nothing more than for her to be vindicated, and to prove the the world the the “heartless” Annie Leonhart is a loyal soldier, not the traitorous snake they started to make of her.
It got in your head, most certainly. Within hours of the first discussion, ‘Annie Leonhart’ and ‘Female Titan’ had become synonymous with each other, and you hated every bit of it. You always defended her fiercely, because you could only hear so much distasteful talk towards her before you started to broil over with rage.
So, you agreed. You were going to lure Annie down in to the tunnel and prove once and for all that she wasn’t a monster. You could clear her of suspicion, and the two of you would go back to your ordinary lives with each other.
And oh, if only that was what happened.
But you watched in horror as Annie refused to go down the tunnel. She laughed, laughed, when you pleaded with her to follow you, that all she needed to do was come along with you to be unshackled from the scrutiny and doubt.
But her feet remained planted in her rigid stance of defense.
“Y/n...” She slurred out, laughter finally subsiding. “I’m glad I could be a good person to you.”
The slope of fear seemed to lose it’s steadiness, and the drop-off into the pit of empty horror occurred when she held up her hand to her mouth, preparing herself for the bloodshed to follow.
“You’ve won your bet. But this is where my bet begins...!”
The signal flare fired, and the countless soldiers waiting in ambush jumped from all angles. You watched, wide-eyed and frozen, as they restrained her and gagged her, like muzzling a dog. But, it was no use. Her ring, the silver ring she never let you touch, sprung up a spike out of it’s side, and a quick slide of her thumb across the tip opened up a bloody gash in her finger.
And then came the lightning.
Mikasa had thrown her arms around you and Armin, dragging you down into the tunnel to get out of harm’s way of the transformation.
You knew she had finished her transformation when the thundering stopped, and chunks of debris rolled to a stop at your feet, stirred dust slowly settling itself back onto the stone ground. For a moment, everything stilled, and only the ragged breaths of Armin and the sheathing of Mikasa’s blades were audible.
And then something moved.
You weren’t sure what it was, until around the corner, the light was consumed by a large shadow, growing closer and closer and absorbing more of the sunlight until it rounded the corner.
A fingertip. Then the finger. Then the hand. An arm—and it was traveling down the hallway, fingers frozen in a pose as if it were trying to grab onto something, something it couldn’t see.
“Shit!” You let out a terrified yelp and took off running, Mikasa hot on your tail and Armin stumbling closely behind.
It sought after the three of you, until a distant thump could be heard. You whipped your head around and stopped running, noticing the hand—ever present, it’s finger stretched desperately in an attempt at grabbing something, but it was no use. You caught a glance of it’s upper arm, flush against the wall of the curve.
She couldn’t reach any farther.
You let out of a sigh of relief, falling to your knees and gazing at it. It’s shaking fingers stopped, finally, and went limp into it’s palm in defeat, before slowly pulling itself out. You had no clue whether it was trying to grab you, or Armin, or Mikasa, or if it was planning on killing you or not. Bottom line, it was unsuccessful.
But then more thunder.
It seems Eren finally got his cue, because the signature yellow hues of transformation shone even into the dark abyss of the wrecked tunnel.
The three of you took a deep breath and shared a collective glance. Before long, the unsaid instructions were followed, and the three of you scurried out of the tunnel to witness the action.
And action it was—the first sight you were greeted with upon exiting was that of Annie delivering a decisive punch to Eren’s jaw, sending him flying backwards into the streets of Stohess.
Eren returned to his feet as fast as he could, and let out a menacing roar as he charged at Annie, arms low like a football player preparing to pounce on something.
He charged, but her feet remained planted, arms bracing for impact.
You watched as the two of them brawled furiously. You didn’t even notice that Mikasa and Armin had left your side—you hadn’t moved. You couldn’t find it in your heart to fight Annie, but neither were you going to fight Eren. No, all you could do was watch, helpless.
The battle continued fiercely, absolutely wrecking the city in the process. Building were destroyed and crumpled, streets of stone completely upended as one or the other got helplessly tossed around.
It came to a head as the fight eventually progressed to a wide, open space of stone, and the two of them were fighting hand to hand, both of them looking worse for wear. You shot your ODM gear into the roof of a nearby building, watching the fight with a slacked jaw. You had no clue how Eren was even standing a chance to Annie, since you yourself had seen how skilled she was in martial arts.
Soon, though, a decisive kick to Annie shin sent debris and rocks flying everywhere. Annie lost her footing, tumbling to the ground with a thump.
And you had been so fixated on Annie in that moment that you failed to notice the debris, and it was headed right towards your face.
Something—rigid and powerful—collided with your head, and you fell to the ground instantly.
Your vision was already fading, and you watched as tiny streams of crimson flowed over the shingles and down the roof—no doubt stemming from the newly opened gash on your scalp.
The distant clinking of the rock as it tumbled down the slope of the roof was the last thing you heard, and the world around you faded to black.
---
Through the darkness, a memory flashed through your mind.
---
It was dark out, of course it was. Shadis would never let you have leisure time at all when the sun was up.
You leaned against an lone oak tree, fingers brushing through the soft grass idly. The air was cold and crisp, and a soft breeze flowed through the air, just barely enough to rustle your soft hair.
Annie sat silently next to you, shoulder brushing up against yours. Slowly, she slinked her hand over yours, hesitantly grasping at your hand. You entwined your fingers with hers, and she looked away shyly.
She often had bouts of insomnia, lying awake at night for hours, unable to get her body to relax. And, the first night she tugged at your nightshirt, waking you up to go outside with her, she fell asleep in your arms due to exhaustion almost immediately.
So, it had become an unspoken ritual from that day on. She couldn’t sleep, she’d wake you up, the two of you would go outside, and talk or busy yourselves until sleep inevitably caught up to her.
But today was different. For whatever reason, something had been keeping her up for a lot longer than usual. You knew something was weighing down on her heavily, but you weren’t going to pry it out of her.
Deciding to break the tense silence, you squeezed her hand gently, getting her attention before you spoke.
“It’s nice out, isn’t it?” You observed. You weren’t talking about the weather per-say, but the thousands of white speckled stars that dotted the sky, and the bright, full moon that illuminated the grass and dirt beneath you.
“It’s cold.” She said bluntly.
You chuckled softly, her bleak attitude was so characteristic of her.
“I guess that’s true.”
More silence.
And then she sighed, bringing your hand into her lap to cusp it in both of her palms, clinging onto it as if it were grounding her.
“What do you plan on doing later in life, Y/n?” She huffed, leaning her head backwards against the back of the tree and gazing up at the sky. “You don’t possibly plan on staying in the military your whole life, do you?”
“No, of course not.” You sighed.
“Then do you have plans afterwards?”
You paused for a minute. She raised a good point, you didn’t really think of anything after the military. Deep down, perhaps you understood that by joining the Cadet Corps you didn’t have much ahead of you. You can only survive so many brushes with death before it’s your turn to go.
“I guess not...” You hesitated, deep in thought. You swallowed a lump in your throat before changing the subject. “Why, do you?”
Even through the darkness, you could feel the shrug of her shoulders against you.
“Not really.” She muttered. “Just... stay with the MPs, make a living wage, retire somewhere in the interior, and... relax. I just wanna... find somewhere to relax.”
She paused for a second. Clearly there’s something tugging at her mind, something she wants to say. So, you sit back and wait for her to find the confidence.
“Do you promise me that... sometime, after a while in the Scouts, that you’ll come back to be with me?”
The future between the two of you was always painted with uncertainty—whether the two of you could ever truly stay together. It would be difficult, between soldiers, to be able to settle down and stay together no matter what, especially from different regiments. But you could always try.
She exhaled shakily, struggling to get the words out of her throat.
“I just can’t imagine living the rest of my life without you. ‘Cause... if anything ever happened to you in the Scouts...” Her voice trailed off near the end, and you assumed she was trying to plan out her next words carefully, until you heard a small sniffle pass her lips.
Surprised, you turned to face her. She was trying to fight off the tears at the corners of her eyes, lip trembling as she struggled not to cry. It wasn’t until now that you realized just how tightly she gripped your hand.
“Annie- Annie it’s alright.” You stumbled, trying to comfort her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was upsetting her—she was scared of living a life without you.
You hooked an arm around her lower back, pulling her closer to you and putting your other hand on the back of her head and guiding her to your shoulder.
“I promise you, no matter what, I’ll live. And one day, we can spend all our time together. I’ll go wherever you go, I swear.” You ran your hand through her hair, undoing the bun she kept it in and evening it out over her shoulders.
“You promise?” Her voice sounded shaky and weak, a vulnerability to it that she rarely showed. “No matter what happens to me, you’ll trust me and stay with me?”
“I promise. Of course I do.”
---
Warmth.
It was the first thing you noticed upon waking up. The second was darkness. You sat up, noticing how wet the surface beneath you was. And how how fleshy.
Your face paled in realization. You were in a titan's mouth.
You raised your arm up, cringing at the trail of saliva that connected you to her tongue.
Immediately, you searched for a way to get out. You didn't plan on leaving her behind, but you'd rather not be stuck in a place as slimy and dark as this either. However, your efforts were pointless, since her jaw was clamped shut, her teeth caging you in and preventing you from escaping. Your heart dropped a little, wondering if she didn't trust you not to run away.
Suddenly, you felt a large thump, the unexpected movement causing you to grab desperately at anything that would keep you grounded in one spot.
But then, another thump. And another, and another. It felt like running, almost, but far too slow. You pondered it for a moment, before you realized what was going on.
She was trying to climb the wall.
But then, the thumping stopped. She wasn't falling, thank god, but all movement has seized.
Hesitantly, her jaw started to open, giving ample space for you to squeeze through. A sudden thought came to you—she needed your help.
With no hesitation, you drew your blades and burst through the skin of her cheek, not even waiting for her to part for lips. Adrenaline pumping through your veins, you immediately search for the source of the problem. And you found it in the brute of a soldier, Mikasa Ackerman.
The girl was perched on Annie's nose, staring down at her. A quick glance to your side and you realized, with horror written all over your face, that Mikasa had cut off almost all of Annie's fingers—one more and Annie would easily lose her grip.
You understood, as soon as Mikasa drew her blades towards Annie's hand, you only had one option.
You shot your ODM gear towards her, not even caring when the hook dug into Mikasa's shoulder, causing her to yelp in pain as she turned to you.
She wasn't even given a moment to process as you came hurtling towards her, colliding with her shoulder and sending both of you flying through the air and towards the ground—fast.
Despite the small voice telling you that it would be easier to just ditch Mikasa, to release your ODM gear and let her fall, you shot the other hook into the wall, and your momentum halted to a stop.
She peeled her arms away from their protective guard around her head, processing that the two of you had stopped before looking up to you in surprise. You looked back down at her, an expression of sorrow in your eyes. It hurt you to betray her, and all of your comrades, like this, but you knew as soon as Annie placed her trust in you by opening her mouth that you only had one choice.
"Y/n what are y—!"
"I'm sorry Mikasa!" You yelled, trying to put aside your emotions for the time being. "I can't... I can't leave her, I promised I wouldn't!"
You took a deep breath, positioning on your finger on the trigger, preparing to release Mikasa from your ODM gear's bloody grip in her shoulder. "I'm sorry..." You muttered, before pulling the trigger, watching Mikasa tumbled towards the ground, her betrayed expression still glued helplessly on her face.
You decided that it would only hurt you to look at Mikasa—engraining that image into your head would certainly plague you later on.
You finally turned to look back at Annie, and your heart picked up a couple paces at the sight.
Her head was turned to you, watching—waiting—for you, her hand outstretched in your direction. You smiled, firing your ODM and flying into the palm of her hand, quickly climbing up onto her shoulder to allow her to finish her ascent up the wall.
You turned back one last time, looking over at the destroyed city, and the furious and betrayed faces of your comrades. You sighed, turning back around. That's in the past now, you thought. It doesn't matter. I... made a promise to Annie, I can't betray her. I can't...
---
The line of trees in the distance grew closer and closer as Annie jogged forwards, having made it over the wall and all the way to the forest inside Wall Maria.
She slowed down to a walking pace as she neared the trees, kneeling on the ground before releasing herself from the nape of her titan. Steam flowed from her body as she immediately collapsed forwards, and you instantly lurched forwards to catch her exhausted body in your arms.
"Grab on." You instructed, waiting for her to securely wrap herself around you before you flew through the air and onto a tree branch, making sure you were safely out of the reach of any mindless titans before you let go of her.
She took a deep breath, leaning against the wooden trunk of the tree to recollect her strength. After all, even as a titan, the fight had done numbers to her body.
You sat there in comfortable silence for a little bit, waiting for her to catch her breath while you idly readjusted the straps to your ODM gear.
Finally, she reached over to take your hand, grabbing it in both of hers just like she had during your conversation with her years ago.
"I'm so glad..." She sighed, voice weak and wavering. "I was so scared when I opened my mouth that you would just... run off without me."
Slowly, she shifted, wrapping her arms around your neck and leaning her entire body weight on you. You could feel some of the tension leaving her body as she sighed against you, burying her nose in the crook of your neck.
"I was terrified that if you found out my real identity, you would just leave me. I don't know how I would've handled it. I was just..." She took a shaky inhale as she continued, and you felt a few wet tears against your neck. "Scared. So... So scared..."
You set a comforting hand on her back, hugging her tighter in an attempt to sooth her.
"Annie..." You cooed in her ear. "I promised you, remember? I would never leave your side. I'm gonna stay with you for the rest of my life."
Her breathing started to calm against you, your words managing to ease her worries.
"Yeah," She sighed, pulling away from you. "I shouldn't have doubted you, sweetie."
You smiled and placed your hands on her shoulders, bringing her in for a quick kiss before wiping her tears with the back of your hand.
"It's fine. Just remember," You leaned in and hugged her, exuding a warm feeling that made Annie's heart swell with love. "I'll always be on your side, no matter what."
"God, I love you so much, you dork." She muttered, heat rising to her cheeks with a content smile.
You chuckled, "I love you, too."
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MAN THIS IS ASS
This is what happens when you force yourself to write with a headache whoops haha
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meimae · 3 years
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Look at me, not being on time for my April Immersion Overview as is the usual. (・w・;
First, little blog updates to get out of the way:
I reached 100 followers! Got an influx of people checking out my 1 year update post, and got plenty of nice compliments on my data collection.
For those of you wondering just why I keep up with so much data, it's mostly because it can get really hard to notice how much you're improving in a language especially with something like immersion learning that for people who don't get it feels like a waste of time or a time sink.
Graphs showing consistency, improvement in reading speed, increasing vocabulary counts, and generally just seeing numbers grow turns language learning more fun and motivating for me, and if as a bonus, it encourages someone to try immersion learning then that would be cool!
With that said, whether you're here as a fellow language learner, graphs enthusiast (笑), or just want some Japanese media recommendations, ようこそ! 
Also, made a tiny DP change - it’s チト from 少女週末旅行. Pretty sure it’s the first manga series I ever finished in Japanese (not the first one I started since ちはやふる is still ongoing), and I always felt a bit of a ☆connection☆ with  her - between her book-loving personality and being a no-nonsense kind of person, there was no way for me not to enjoy her character. Great beginner anime/manga if you’re not into most beginner recommendations.
-☆-
April has been a pretty good immersion month, as I was able to dip my toes in a variety of media. A bit competitive, too! The club I joined has been pulling all the stops to get to the Top 20 Immersion Leaderboard in it’s first month. I was able to snag the 9th spot among a bunch of people of different comprehension levels (the majority being N1+ since they’re able to comprehend much more and in turn stand longer immersion hours). Lots of tiny complaints though of potential “whitenoising” content (”listening” and “reading” but not comprehending very well just to get a large number to post), but really what can you do? People lie all the time on the internet. Besides, it’s internet points that doesn’t do anything beyond being a little shiny I guess.
Enough about that, let’s get into the nitty-gritty details you came here for!
ANIME
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フルーツバスケット
Might need to rewatch this one. Felt like I didn’t connect with the characters the way the rest of its fandom has. I’m kinda sad about it, since I normally love Slice of Life and Fantasy, and I know this is one of my friend’s diehard shows.
ラブライブ! School Idol Project S2
A filler anime to watch tbh. Nice and easy enough to follow for beginners. Pretty good songs. With regards to it being a show about music and moe, I still 100% prefer K-On! if I’m going to be honest, but for a show about non-toxic idols, it’s good!
魔法少女まどか☆マギカ
First read this as English translated manga when I was 13 or something. Mistakes were made. Let’s all just agree to throw キュウベえ into a pit of fire and never talk about it again. Great ending and a show that really reworked the magical girl genre. But seriously, I was traumatized by マミ’s death then and now, help.
四月は君の嘘
Already knew what was going to happen even before watching this so I didn’t ugly cry like I was expecting. Still got that awful sinking feeling though. 10/10 would recommend for a good cry. Also, I’m planning to read the manga, might enjoy that more, because I’ve always liked it more than anime actually. *shocked pikachu face*
ホリミヤ
Watched before I even finished the manga which felt like a mistake at first until I realized that it perfectly stops where I stopped reading. Nice and comfy anime, the kind I would have loved as a teen. Fun animation too, making parts very dramatic even though it wasn’t really that deep of an issue even in the manga. Just teens feeling feelings. Still salty that we lose bad boy styled 宮村, but I get why it had to happen.
AUDIOBOOKS
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氷菓
Second re-listen. I understand it fine, but it’s very easy to drift off when you can’t catch all the words so I had to replay often. Will have to mine more from the anime/book.
君の名は
I mined from the anime, and was really pleased to be able to follow all 6 hours of this audiobook perfectly fine. Will need to read the book, because I realized just how seamless reading it would be after listening to it with hardly any issue.
BOOKS
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キッチェン
Completed! Read my thoughts about it and see my stats on this post.
君の膵臓を食べたい
Still trudging on with this one. It’s not a bad story, it’s pretty well written actually, I just made the mistake of watching both the anime and live adaptation first, so I know exactly what’s going to happen and it’s killing my motivation to keep reading. I guess reading the book first before watching the movie still applies in any language with me. Really need to 頑張れ and finish so I can move on. 
三日間の幸福
Started reading towards the end of the month, mostly because I realized that every chapter is only 5000-15000 characters long, and I was able to read up to 40k in a day with Island most days. Only two chapters read so far though because I got distracted by manga, but it’s shaping up to be a really good plot and potentially a really sad one, too, so I’m interested.
DRAMA
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花ざかりの君たちへ イケメンパラダイス
Heard this was a classic so I gave it a try. Loved 生田 斗真’s character in this one the most especially all his internal dialogue acted out. Also, 小栗 旬 in anything is bound to be a good watch. Simple and fun watch. They dragged the ending so much though lmao 
ごくせん
Look, I see 松本 潤, I click. Definitely the kind of show you should watch for some great life advice. Planning to watch the 2nd and 3rd seasons even if there is a terrible lack of 松本 潤, because I love my strong female protagonists, and man, ヤンクミ is such a great character. Need to read the manga, too, if I can find it.
極主夫道
Oof, this was kind of hard. The yakuza talk was throwing me off, but the rest of it was enjoyable. Not really plot heavy as I thought it was going to be. The comedy side of it was fun and predictable after the first few episodes. Overall, pretty good slice of life, family story with a twist.
MANGA
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Read a bunch of manga this month, mostly because I am struggling to find the next vn to read.
おやすみプンプン
Read a couple of volumes (6-7). This manga is so good, but it’s so depressing I need to stop to take a breather every once in a while. Please don’t leave any spoilers. The club has been reacting to me reading this, and it has mostly been a lot of crying emotes. It’s both been enjoyable to see and really worrying. 笑
チェンソーマン
Club recommendation. Only read the 1st volume so far. I really need to get into more 少年 anime/manga. That’s currently my 苦手 genre which is awful because literally all the top anime/manga is 少年 help. I just can’t enjoy it much still even though it’s comprehensible to me.
ちはやふる 中学生編
Read Vol. 1, chill read to me at this point after reading 45 volumes of the regular manga. Look, it’s my favorite 幼馴染 manga in baby format, of course I’m going to read this! 太一 has been a flake way before season 3 confirmed. Don’t come at me たいちはや stans bc I also like his character.
約束のネバーランド
Volume 7. I’m taking my sweet time with this one, because I heard the anime for season 2 sucked, so I’m avoiding it like the plague. This is 少年 how am I enjoying this and not everything else what.
ヲタクに恋は難しい
Enjoyed the anime hated the movie why did they make it a musical that sucked (ps i normally love musicals hated this one) 
The オタク jargon is kinda hard to read suprisingly but I do enjoy this ship very much. It’s a lighthearted take to otaku culture which is great because seriously it’s scary out there.
ツバサ -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-
It’s my childhood ship, obviously I will read this again (read in English several years ago). Still as plot twisty as I remember it being (now at a bonus hard level reading it in Japanese 笑). Really enjoyed reading this one (I finished it this May).
-☆-
I’m starting to really dislike furigana in manga. It was a great help as a beginner, but now it’s like training wheels that you can’t take off. I feel like the gains I’m getting from manga is much lower than it was when I first started which makes me both proud of how far I’ve come, but also sad because I love manga. Sad that I might have to start choose VNs over it, because it’s not going to challenge me as much going forward. I mean it didn’t stop me from reading a lot of it this month, but you get the picture.
VISUAL NOVELS
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ISLAND
Completed! See my stats and read my long spoiler filled post here.
ファタモルガーナの館
Picked up this VN and finished two doors (15 hours) before stopping. On the fence about it, because it has been kind of predictable so far, and I don’t particularly enjoy the horror genre. That said, this is more psychological than anything, so it’s probably not that that’s putting me off. The language is not exactly difficult, too - maybe some oddly specific words because it is after all historical fiction (which is one of my favorite genres, btw), and 敬語 is definitely interesting to read for once after encountering so many お嬢様 characters in anime/drama so far. 
I think maybe it’s the conversations that are kind of dull - dots (silence) every few clicks that keeps breaking the flow of reading. Probably judging it really harshly too early, because it’s rated so high everywhere, and I just have high expectations. Definitely not dropping it yet though, just taking a break and testing a couple of other VNs before I settle with whatever I end up choosing. It is, after all, going to be another 50+ hour read, and I just don’t want to not enjoy the process, because having fun with the process is a huge part of immersion learning.
Let me know if you’ve read Fata and if I should continue! 
-☆-
That’s it for this month!
If you have any suggestions on what to watch and read next, please send me a reply, especially for VNs because I’m struggling over here.
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